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If one can, then caching the fuel is a great option. If the initial destination is all up stream however, then caching fuel is not much of an option since the vast majority of the fuel is required to reach the destination. One can quite often drift all the way back without power if the return trip is all down current.

I just purchased a 23HP Copperhead and 21' HB this fall. I also purchased a spare prop with the motor.
They said that the standard prop was a 12" pitch so I got the 10" as the spare.
When I got the motor and ran it in the lake with ~700 lbs load (that two guys, motor, gas, etc.) the motor could not get over about 3800 rpm, not the 4800 rpm that it's tuned for (top speed 15 mph).
When I put the 10" prop on the difference was noticeable. The motor would rev all the way up to 4600+ rpm, the acceleration was greatly improved, and the top speed got to 19 mph.
So, if the motor isn't getting to the mid 4K rpm then you need to go to a lower pitch prop.

I have both the 10 as well as the 12 pitch prop as well as three different sized top pulleys. I also have the 23 horse now because the 18 was just not putting out the power I needed. Mainer claims that the 12 inch props make a big difference over these smaller diameter props and I hope someday I can give one a try.

Utah: how does the copper compare to the mud buddy as far as looking well built, etc? i will ask the dealer about the 10" prop. 4 mph increase is impressive; over 25%. any idea on gas consumption with the two props? thanks. john

i'm burning a little over 1.5 gph, with 900-1000 lbs in a hudson bay, against 6-8 mph river. running fairly hard, but not at WOT too much. 23 hp MB; will have to check into prop size, but it is "standard".

i'm burning a little over 1.5 gph, with 900-1000 lbs in a hudson bay, against 6-8 mph river. running fairly hard, but not at WOT too much. 23 hp MB; will have to check into prop size, but it is "standard".

Did you notice a difference between being loaded and not loaded?
I have a 35 hp and a 76 mile trip with a load I only burned 6 gallons of gas.
I love the efficiency I am getting, and I wonder if I was to go smaller motor on a canoe, if the speed trade off is actually worth the extra fuel savings?

i'm burning a little over 1.5 gph, with 900-1000 lbs in a hudson bay, against 6-8 mph river. running fairly hard, but not at WOT too much. 23 hp MB; will have to check into prop size, but it is "standard".

My experience is almost the same. I'm burning right at about 1.5 gallons per hour with about that same sized load running about 3/4 throttle with my 23 horse Copperhead on the Taiga Creek 18 footer. I actually get considerably better mileage when I am loaded heavy say around 1500 pounds because I no longer have enough speed / thrust to get up on step so had to throttle back to around half throttle. I had also geared down the top pulley to the next smaller size with the heavy load.

My experience is almost the same. I'm burning right at about 1.5 gallons per hour with about that same sized load running about 3/4 throttle with my 23 horse Copperhead on the Taiga Creek 18 footer. I actually get considerably better mileage when I am loaded heavy say around 1500 pounds because I no longer have enough speed / thrust to get up on step so had to throttle back to around half throttle. I had also geared down the top pulley to the next smaller size with the heavy load.

My speed is fairly comparable with a load and without a load. Maybe within about 5 mph difference.
An example would be a day trip with just 20 gallons of gas and processing gear for a day trip I was getting 24 mph top speed and with 40 gallons of gas, a three day camp (I estimated about 900 lbs total), I was able to get 21 mph but kept it around 18 mph.
This was my first season, so I am still exploring and playing with it.

Utah: how does the copper compare to the mud buddy as far as looking well built, etc? i will ask the dealer about the 10" prop. 4 mph increase is impressive; over 25%. any idea on gas consumption with the two props? thanks. john

I am not familiar with the Mud Buddy, but the Copperhead looks great.
My main complaint with the CH is the manual tilt adjustment. It is almost impossible to adjust while under power (no bearings, etc...), and with the HB being a displacement hull, the angle of the boat changes and therefore the need to adjust the tilt. I'm looking at a modification/addition to their system to make the adjustment allot smother.
As for gas consumption I haven't monitored it closely (only have about 20 hours on the CH) but it seems to be a little over 1-gal./hr. at full throttle.

When Utah is stating 10" or 12" I believe what is being referred to is pitch rather than prop diameter. I am very curious as to what difference diameter also makes.

Yes, you are correct. I was referring to the pitch not the diameter. Sorry for any confusion.
FYI - My Copperhead has the "Rock guard" modification which extends to under the prop, so I can't put a larger diameter prop on, only smaller.